Helmut Marko doubles down after Sergio Perez ‘South American’ slur

Helmut Marko has failed to apologise for his comments after claiming that Sergio Perez ‘is not as focused’ as some of his F1 rivals due to his nationality.

The debacle kicked off after Marko, who works as Red Bull’s chief advisor, passed comment on Checo’s performance at the recent Italian Grand Prix. The Mexican driver endured a difficult afternoon in qualifying on Saturday but bounced back from a P5 grid slot to finish in second place, just six seconds behind team-mate Max Verstappen.

Initially speaking to ServusTV, Marko said: “The Italian GP was surely one of Checo Perez’s best weekends and we know about his problems in qualifying, which is where he has his doubts.

“Let’s remember that he is South American and so his head is not as focused as Max Verstappen or as Sebastian Vettel was, but racing is his forte and he had a very good race.

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“Overtaking three drivers, in George Russell and the Ferrari drivers, was not easy, as we knew they were faster on the straights. In the race, Perez did everything right and now we have circuits like Singapore, where he has already won and which suit him better.”

Marko incorrectly stereotyped an entire continent and picked the wrong continent altogether, with Mexico being based in North America and not South America, as his comments said.

Instead of apologising for his words when given the opportunity, Marko simply claimed that they had been misunderstood. Speaking to Austrian news outlet OE24, he said: “It wasn’t meant that way. I meant that a Mexican has a different mentality than a German or a Dutchman. But who knows, maybe it’s (Checo’s mentality) controlled.”

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Marko’s words are unlikely to help the harmony that the Milton Keynes-based team are trying to build as they look to create F1 history in 2023.

Checo has addressed the impact his nationality has on the way he is viewed before. After his win in Singapore last season, he said: “I knew I was going through a bit of a bad patch. 

“There’s been two races I haven’t been on the podium, but obviously the media makes a big thing, probably because I’m Mexican, and they start to make all these comparisons, [like] the biggest mistake Red Bull has made to bring me here.”

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